Method and means for treating sheet material



Aug. 13, 1929. N DE LONG 1,724,645

` METHOD AND MEANS FOR TREATING SHEET MATERIAL original FiledMay 29.1924 4 sheets-sheet l N. DE LONG A ug. 1 3, 1929.

METHOD AND MEANS FOR TREATING SHEET MATERIAL 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 l OriginalFiled May 29. 1924 N. DE LONG' Aug. 13, 1929.

METHOD AND MEANS FOR TREATING SHEET MATERIAL Original Filed May 29. 19244 Sheets-Sheet 3 N. DE LONG Aug. 13,. 1929.

METHOD AND MEANS FOR TREATING SHEET MATERIAL Original Filed May 29. 19244 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Aug. 13,` 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. NELSON DE LONG, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOIR TO BENJAMIN B.SALVATY, F

- CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

METHOD AND MEANS FOB TBEATING SHEET MATERIAL.

' Application led May 29, 1924, Serial No. 718,646. Renewed January 10,1929.'

My invention relates to improvements in means and methods for treatingsheet ma.-

terial, such as paper, and has special ref' out my improvements asapplied specificall to the rapid printing of paper and, although I have,in this present application, described my invention as applied to theprinting of a paper web successively on opposite sides of the web withthe smearing or offsetting of the first impression, by the pressurenecessary for the second impression, eliminated, it will be'obvious,upon a, full understanding of the invention, that it is also applicableto the printing of separate sheets and the elimination of smut sheetswhich are now commonly employed in this work. A particular object of myinvention in connection with .the printing of .paper isv4 theelimination of the so-called smut roll which does not last long, thecost of which is high and which requires constant surveillance toprevent additional cost through delays, etc., whenever the smut webbecomes wrinkled or broken. y

I accomplish my object by the peculiar and novel a plication of heat andairv to practically instantaneously eliminate all volatile elements ofthe impressed ink, and,

under some conditions, .the like chilling of the 'impressed ink afterthe volatile parts have been thus removed.

It will become clear, from the following description, that while I haveillustrated my invention as applied to the rapid printing of' paper webson its opposite sides andthe elimination of smut rolls and sheets, thatmy invention is capable of application to many other uses, such as therapid or quick drying of sheet material itself, as well as ifnk whichmay be impressed upon its surace. v

My invention will be more readily understood by reference to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and in whichI have illustrated a specific application of my invention as applled toa web printing press,` and in which draw- 'Figure 1, is a diagrammaticside elevation of a web printing press of usual con-v str uctionequipped with an ink drying mechamsm constructed in accordance with myinvention and which I have found best adapted for practicing my novelmethod;

Figure 2, is an enlarged'side elevation of tle ink drying mechanism,shown in Figure Figure 3, is a sectional view through one of the hot airapplicators and its associable roll on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4, is a similar sectional view of the cold air applicator;

Figure 5, is an enlarged vertical sectional view of one of theapplicators and its associated roll;

Figure 6, is a fragmentary plan view of one end of one of theapplicators illustrating the means for adjusting the space between theapplicator and its roll;

Figure 7, is a fragmentary end elevation of the parts shown in Figure 6;

Figure 8, is a fragmentary section on the lines 8--8 Qf Figures 5 and 7;and

Figure 9, is a diagrammatic sectional view illustrating the action ofthe thin film of air in transferring heat from or to the applicator.

In said drawings, 10 illustrates, diagrammatically a web press, adaptedin the form shown, for printing on a paper web 11, first on one side bymeans of impression cylinders l2, 13 and 14, and then on the oppositeside of the paper by the impression cylinders 15, 16 and 17.

Between the two sets of cylinders, I arrange means for drying andsetting the ink of the first impressions before the web eaches thesecond set of impression cylin The paper web 11 is supplied in the formof a roll 18 and is led around suitable idlers 19 to the first set ofimpression cylinders where one or more impressions are made upon oneside of the paper accordingl to the results desired; it is then led to edrying mechanism designated generally by 20 and having a plurality ofidle rolls or cylinders .21, 22 an 23, that is, three in this particularinstance. From the drying mechanism the web 11 is led over suitable idleguide rollers 24 to the second set of impression cylinders, from whichpoint it is trained over suitable idle guide rolls 25 for delivery fronthe printinggmachine to suit-v able-*cutting and folding mechanism, not

shown, as may be desired, as shown by the dotted line, Figure 1.

The drying mechanism 20 consists of the three idle rollers 21, 22 and23, which are duplicates of each other; Each cylinder or roll consists.of a cylindrical shell 26 and heads 27.v The roll is mounted on acentral shaft 28 to which the heads are secured, and the shaft isrotatably mounted at its ends in suitable adjustable bearings 29. Thebearings at each side of the` machine, that is, the three at the sameends of the several cylinders are mounted on a channel beam 30. The twochannel beams are supported at one end by swinging hanger or radius arms31 which are pivotally mounted at their upper ends on trunnions 32mounted in bearingr brackets 33. At their opposite ends the two channelbeams are mounted for easy up and down adjustment through a limitedmovement by means of link members 34, pivotally connected at their endsto the adjacent ends of the channel beams and at their upper ends 35,carried on an eccentric strap 36, mounted on eccentrics 37 secured on across shaft 38. A crank arm 30 is secured to one end of the shaft 38 bywhich the shaft can be rotated through 180 from the position shown tolower the forward ends of the channel beams 30 in an obvious manner, andwhen the shaft is rotated back again the beams are raised and locked intheir raised position. The channel beams 30 in their up and down move-Iments, as described, obviously carry with them thethree cylinders 21,22 and 23, the up and down movement of which is for a purpose to bedescribed.

The paper web, when it leaves the first set of impression cylinders, isrst led around the cylinder 21, then down around a relatively smalldiameter idle roller 40. This roller 40 is rotatably mounted at its endsin adjustable hanger bearings 41 depending from the channel beams 30.The web is then trained around the second cylinder 22 and thenis leddown to the lower part of the machine around an idle roll 42, (seeFigure l) then up and around the third cylinder 23, then down around theidle rollers 24 to the. second set of impression cylinders. The inkingrollers for the impression cylinders are not shown.

Related to each of the cylinders 21, 22 and 23, is what we term an airapplicator, shown respectively at 43, 44' and 45. The severalapplicators are substantially alike except that those shown at 43 and 44are adapted to apply heat as well as air, and that shown at 45 isadapted to apply cold, or, in other words, extract heat as well as applyair. It should be understood that in the manner in which the paper istrained around the several cylinders 21, 22 and 23, the rst rintedsurfaceis always presented outwaA y.

that, so far as I am aware, no one has been enabled heretofore toprinton the two opposite sides of a web of book or magazine paper in a webpress, or for that matter in a sheet press without the use of a smutsheet or roll.

By means of the applicators 43 and 44 I am enabled to apply heat and airin a manner to eliminate all of the volatiles fromthe irst impressions,and by means of the applicator 45 I am enabled to .chill or lower thetemperature of the remaining ink to such an extent that I do not produceany offset on the cylinder l5 in making the impressions by the cylinders16 and 17. I have found that one reason prior methods have failed ineiiiciency is that all of the prepared air is not made use of. 'Ioeliminate this detrimental feature I provide the applicators which arein the form of saddles or chests extending a little more thanone-fourth'A the channels by nuts 49 on the outer ends of the trunnions46 which are threaded to receive same. The nut clamps the web of thechannel 47 against a shoulder 50 on the trunnion. The trunnions at bothends are hollow. At one end an air pressure pipe 51 is connected andwhich leads directly into a central longitudinal passage 52, throughwhich the air is delivered to a longitudinal series of smalll ports oroutlets 53 directed inwardly toward the cylinder with which theapplicator cooperates. The inner end of each radial port 53 is flared orcountersunk, as shown at 54, to provide an elongated emission opening atthe surface of the cylinder suiiicient to provide an emission area whichis at least equal to or greater than what would be the emission area ofan exit slot extending the length of the applicator. The applicator isadjustable from and toward the cylinder by means, to be described, toprovide a circumferential space 55 between the l applicator and thecylinder of a few thousandths of an inch in radial thickness, probablynever lessA than three times the thickness of the paper web beingpresented, this for the purpose of allowing-the passage of wrinkles inthe paper without tearing the The hollow trunnion at the opposite end isclosed by a hollow plug 56 threaded at its outer end to receive a steamsupply pipe 57. I provide simple means for directing the steam into thehollow applicator and outside of the central passage 52. This meanscomprises an inner plug 58 closed at its inner end and open at its outerend for receiving the steam. The plug 58 is pro'- vided with radialpassages 59 which lead iinto a circumferential groove -60, and anopening 6l leads through the wall of the applicator into the hollowspace 72 surrounding the passage 52. I provide simple packing means 73and 74 to prevent the escape of the steam along the outer surface of thetwo plugs 56 and 58. Suitable control valves 75 and 76 are provided forcontrolling the flow of air and steam to the applicator. The air which Iuse in connection with the steam for heating and drying the ink ispreferably of but a few pounds pressure, in most instances not over twoor three pounds, but even this low pressure is sufficient to drive thethin film of air between the applicator and Vthe paper, which surroundsthe cylinder, at a very hlgh velocity. The proj ection of the air in theform of this extremely thin film at this high velocity causes the almostinstantaneous extraction of the more volatile parts of the ink, and what-is not extracted by the first application is extracted at the secondapplication. It should be understood that if -a certain quality of inkor paper required further applications of heat and air the scheme iscapable of such development by the further application of the hotapplicators.

Another inherent feature of the thin film method of applying the airresults from the peculiar and efficient action of the air intransferring heat from the applicator to the paper in the case of thehot applicator and of transferring heat from the paper or ,ink to theapplicator' in the case of the cold applicator. I have illustrated thisaction in Figure 9, which is a fragmentary transverse section of anapplicator and its associated cylinder greatly enlarged. The air isdriven with great velocity through the slot from the air outlets 54 andas the paper is in motion and the applicator is stationary, there is adifferential of friction set up which would result in an undulating orrolling movement of the air, causing s ecific infinitesimal portions tocontact wit one wall of the slot and then with the o, her wall of theslot, as indicated by the ad ancing circles 55' in the slot 55 in Figure9. This action greatly enhances the transfer of heat from one wall tothe other in addition to the `direct radiation possible through such athin space. It is believed that this theory accounts for the remarkableefficiency of this method. Another feature of importance is the highvelocity of the film of air, which in turn is due to the pressure underwhich the air is applied. This velocity, which is estimated to be about5,000 feet per minute,

is sufficient to bring each portion. of the paper web into contact withabout 150 feet in length ofthe stream of air while the specific portionof the web is passing between au applicator and its associated cylinder.I have therefore condensed,`or compressed, into the sniall space ofabout fourteen inches, as to results, what would ordinarily requireabout 150 feet of length of the web. If the air has to be preheated to ahigh enough temperature to carry an equivalent amount of heat-to thepaper, it would be raised to a temperature Where it would ignite thepaper. By my improved method I avoid such possibilities of'danger.Furthermore, the air is maintained at substantially the maximumtemperature until it emerges from the space 55, that is, while confinedin the slot it is working at maximum efliciency.

In order to be assured of the production and maintenance of the spacebetween the applicator and the cylinder of uniform radial depththroughout, I have provided simple means for adjusting the positionsofthe cylinders and the applicators. Part of this adjustable means isthe adjustable bearings by which the cylinders are carried and by whichmeans the several cylinders can be accurately adjusted to properly trackthe paper web. The trunnion mounting of the applicators permit them tobe tipped to equalize the space at the forward and rear edges. Inaddition I provide spacing or pressure rollers 77, one at each edge atboth ends of each applicator. Each pressure roller 77 is mounted foradjustment radially and is adapted to Contact with the surface of thecylinder, as shown in Figures 5 and 7; The applicator is provided with arecess or pocket 78 for receiving the roller and the roller is mountedon a pin 79, having a hex head 80 and two concentric bearing portions 8land 82. Between the bearing portions the pin is provided with aneccentric portion 83 upon which the roller 77 is mounted. It will nowbeobvious that by rotating the pin the roller 77 can be adjusted in andout. The pin is held rigidly in its adjusted position by a set screw 84.It should be under stood that the space 55 is very greatly exaggeratedas to radial depth.

After leaving the two hot applicators 43 and 44, the web is carried downto the bottom of the machine around the idle roller 42 and then up againaround the cylinder 23 and beneath the third applicator 45.

-This' relatively long travel of the web is for the purpose of allowingas much dissipation l of heat as possible between the last hotapplicator and the cold applicator at-which point I reduce thetemperature ofthe to a point sufficient to set it or make it hard andprevent any offsetting in the operation of printing on the opposite sideof the web. The chest in the cold applicator 45 is a duplicate of one`Vof the'hot chests, except that I do not provide any steam connection,closing one end of the central opening 52, see Figure 4, with a plug 85and omitting the radial passage or port 61, the outer space 72 in thisinstance being merely a heat insulation space. The chest fits around thecylinder, as in the other instances, and is likewise held very close tothe cylinder. The end of the passage 52 opposite to the plug 85 isclosed by a plug 86 provided with a central passage 87 connected at itsouter end with an air pressure supply pipe 88 controlled by a suitablevalve 89. The inner end of the plug 86 is formed into an expandingnozzle 90, having a constricted passage 91 at its inner end. This is tocause the expansion of the high pressure air supplied to a larger volumeand lower pressure within the passage 52, and simultaneously to producea low or refrigerating temperature. The air is supplied at 50 to 60pounds pressure and is dried and cooled to as low a temperature asconvenient with, ordinary city water, probably about F. Such air whensuddenly released and expanded drops down to about 40 F. orvlower, andthe pressure used within the applicator is similar to the hotapplicators, viz, about 2 or 3 pounds. This low pressure cold air isapplied in the same manner as in the hot applicators, viz, in the formof a very thin film the whole length of the applicator and is caused toiow over the paper web in both directions around the cylinder at a veryhigh velocity. The application of the air in the manner `described,besides the advantageous results mentioned, causes a balancing of thefrictional drag on the paper and consequently does not accelerate orretard appreciably the forward movement of the paper web.

The peculiar mounting of the several cylinders on the channel beams 30permits the quick and easy dropping of the three cylinders and theirseparation from the three applicators when it is desired to thread theweb of paper through the machine. When the webA has been threadedthrough then the pulling down of the crank 39 simultaneously lifts thethree cylinders to proper working relation to their several applicators,and the' relation of the centers of the lifting mechanism is such thatthe centers are passed and the frame is locked in raised position untilunlocked b 39. The c ests of the two hot applicators 43 and 44 are eachprovided with drain pipes 92 by which the condensed steam may .beremoved.

It is to be noted that the relation of the several applicators to theirrespective cylinthe swinging up of the crank ders and to the pivots 32,upon which the.

'This is illustrated by the arc 93 in relation to the applicator 43.

In Figure 1, besides the delivery of the web from the machine tosuitable cutting and folding mechanism, as indicated by the dotting ofthe line indicating the web 11, I- can and sometimes do provide a secondset of applicators, as shown at 94:, Figure 1. This second set ofapplicators may be the same as the first set already described, althoughI have illustrated but one, hot applicator and one cold applicator.These are used for the purposeof drying and setting the ink impressed bythe second set of impression cylinders before lthe web passes to h;cuttingor Afolding mechanism spoken of e ore.

It will n'Ow be clear that the paper when.

parts of the ink are removed by the hot applicators, then the remainingink is set by the cold applicator, then the opposite side of the web canbe immediately printed without the use of a smut roll or web. It shouldprinted surface is bound to be pressed with' greater or less pressureagainst the opposite side of the web, and by means of my invention thiscan immediately occur without any ,possibility of offsetting which isnow the great bug-bear of this class of printing.

I have thus fully described this partlcular .application of my inventionso that it might be thoroughly understood, but it should be clear thatmy invention .is not limited to the specific sequencefof steps describednor to ythe specific construction shown and described, particularly asit is obvious that 1many modifications will readily suggest themselvesto one skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. The herein described improvements in printing paper, which consist inproducing one or more ink impressions on one side of the paper, thencausing relatively hot air to flow in contact with the printed surfaceof the paper at a relatively high speed, and

conning the air while in contact with the paper to the form of arelatively thin film and successively applying cold air in a similarmanner.

2. The herein described method of printing a paper web, which consistsin putting the web into motion endwise, and whileit is in motionproducing one or more ink impressions on one sidel of the paper,applying air in the form of a relatively thin film to the rintedsurface, the air flowing over the sur ace at a relatively high velocity,and then applying air at a relatively low temperature to the moving webin like manner, whereby the ink is set to prevent it smear- 3. Theherein described method of printmg a paper web, which consists inputting the web into motion endwise, and while it is in motion producingone or more ink impressions on one side of the paper, applying air inthe form of a relatively thin film to the printed surface, the airflowing over the surface at a relatively high velocity, and thenapplying air at a relatively low temperature to the moving web inlikemanner, whereby the ink is set to prevent it smearing, and thenproducing ink impressions on the opposite side of the paper.

4. The herein described means for applyin'g heat and air to the printedsurface of a sheet and comprising a. roller around which the sheetpasses, a hollow enclosing member conformed on its inner surface to theperiphery of the roll and positioned to provide a sheet-like spacebetween the two, not more than a few thousandths of an inch inthickness, means for forcing air between the two at substantially themedian line of the enclosing member, and means for applying heat to thesheet as it passes between the two.

5. The herein described means for applying heat and air to one surfaceof a sheet, such as a printed sheet of paper, and comprising a rolleraround which the sheet passes, a hollow enclosing member conformed onits inner surface to the periphery of the roll and positioned to providea sheetlike space between the two, means for forcing air between the twoat substantially the median line of the enclosing member, means forapplying heat to the sheet as it passes between the two, and means foradjusting the radial thickness of the space between the roller andenclosing member.

6. The herein described means for applying heat and air to one surfaceof a sheet, such as a printed sheet of paper, and comprising asses, ahollow 'enclosing member conormed on its inner4 surface to the peripher`ofthe roll and positioned' to provide a shee like space between thetwo, means for forca roller around which the sheeting air between thetwo at substantially the median line of the enclosing member, and meansfor applying heat to the sheet as it passes between the two, theenclosing member being ivotally mounted so that it can be adj usted)substantially concentrically with the roller.

7. In a printing press in which paper is put into motion, and while inmotion has one or more ink impressions applied on one side thereof,means in combination with the press for applying air in the form of arelatively thin film and at relatively high velocity to the printedsurface,`rn`eans for simultaneously applying heat to the paper, andmeans for similarly and subsequently applying air at a relatively lowtemperature {yo dthe paper, as and for the purpose speci- 8. In aprinting press in which paper is put into motion, and while in motionhas one or more ink impressions applied on one side thereof, means incombination with the press for applying air in the form of a relativelythin film and at relatively high Velocity to the printed surface, meansfor simultaneously applying heat to the paper, means for similarly andsubsequently applying air at a relatively low temperature to the paper,and means for subsequently producing one or more ink impressions on theopposite side of the paper before it is discharged from the press.

9. In a web printing press adapted to first print one side of the weband subsequently print the opposite side of the web, means arrangedbetween the two points of impression to first apply heated air tothesurface of the web in the form of a film of not more than a fewthousandths of an inch in thickness and fiowing at a relatively highvelocity, and means for subsequently chilling the ink before the secondimpression.

10. In a printing press adapted to put paper in sheet form into motion,and while in motion to first print one side thereof, and later print theopposite side thereof, means for subjecting the first printed side ofthe paper to the action of a film of air of not more than a fewthousandths of an inch in thickness and fiowing at high velocity, at apoint between the two impressions, and means for likewise subjecting thesecond impression before the paper is delivered from the press.

'11. In a printing press adapted to put paper in sheet form into motion,and while in motion to first print one side thereof, and later print theopposite side thereof, means for subjecting the first printed side ofthe paper to the action of a film of air of not more than a fewthousandths of an inch in thickness and, flowing at high velocity, at apoint between the two impressions, and simultaneously applying heat tothe treated surface of the paper, and means for likewise subjecting thesecond impression before the paper is delivered from the press.

12. In a printing press adapted to put paper in sheet form into motion,and while in motion to first print one side thereof, and later print theopposite side thereof, means for subjecting the first printed side ofthe paper to the action of a thin lm of air, flowing at high velocity,at a point between the two impressions, and simultaneously applying heatto the treated surface of the paper and successively likewiseapplying athin film of cold air, and means for likewise subjecting the secondimpression before the paper is delivered from the press. v

13. In a printing press adapted to put paper in sheet form into motion,and while in motion to first print one side thereof, and later print theopposite side thereof, means for subjecting the first printed side ofthe paper to the action of a thin film of air, flowing at high velocity,at a point between the two impressions, and simultaneously applying heatto the treatedsurface of the paper and successively applying a secondsimilar thin film of air and simultaneously extractmg heat from thetreated surface of the paper, and means for likewise subjecting thesecond impression before the paper is delivered from the press.

14. The herein described method of treating sheet material, whichconsists inputting the sheet material into motion, and while in motionrst impressing a liquid on one surface thereof, then applying a thinfilm of air, fiowing at high velocity, to the impressed surface, thenapplying a second thin film of air to the impressed surfacev andsimultaneously extracting 'heat -from the sheet material.

15. The herein described method of treating sheet-material, whichconsists in putting the sheet material into motion, and while in motionfirst-impressing a liquid on one surface thereof, then applying 1n theform of a film of not over a-few thousandths of an inch in thickness andflowing at high velocity, to the impressed surface and simul- -taneouslyextracting heat from the sheet material, then impressing liquid onthe;opposite side of the sheet material, and then subjecting the saidopposite side similarly to a thin film of air before the sheet materialcomes to rest.

16. The herein described method, which consists in putting sheetmaterial in motion, and While it is in motion applying a gaseous fluidto the surface of the sheet material on a line transversely of thedirection of movement of the material and causing the fluid to liow inboth directions along the surface of the material from the line ofapplication at relatively high velocity and in the form of a film of notmore than a few thousandths of an 'inch in thickness. l

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 29 day of April,1924.

` NELSONDE LONG.

